Teofimo Lopez rejects Jack Catterall’s WBA mandatory claim

Teofimo Lopez has rejected Jack Catterall’s claim that he is the mandatory challenger for the WBA welterweight title. Lopez, the new champion, said Catterall does not hold that status and argued that the British fighter had been given incorrect information about his right to challenge for the belt.

The dispute emerged during an Inside the Ring appearance in which Catterall confronted Lopez after the champion discussed potential fights with the winner of Ryan Garcia versus Conor Benn and a later unification bout with Devin Haney. Catterall holds the WBA’s secondary welterweight title after defeating Shakhram Giyasov.

The WBA’s published ruling creates a direct link between that belt and the championship previously held by Rolando Romero. When Romero was elevated to Super champion in May, the organisation approved Catterall’s fight with Giyasov for the vacant secondary title and required Romero to meet the winner within 180 days. Catterall won that bout, but Romero is no longer the WBA’s main champion after Lopez took the title.

Lopez’s position leaves the sanctioning body with a question over how its earlier order applies to the new champion. The ruling named Romero rather than Lopez, but it connected the two welterweight titles and included a deadline for their unification. Catterall’s victory therefore places him in line for a title-consolidation fight under the WBA’s stated procedure.

During the exchange, Catterall congratulated Lopez and maintained that they should fight. He also suggested that securing a bout with Romero would have been more difficult, while reminding Lopez of his public willingness to face any opponent. Lopez repeated that he was prepared to fight anyone, but continued to deny that Catterall was his mandatory.

The WBA could allow Lopez to pursue another unification, approve an arrangement for Catterall to step aside or order the two titles to be brought together. Until that position is clarified, Lopez’s stated interest in the Garcia-Benn winner and Haney remains in conflict with Catterall’s claim to the next challenge.